As you can see, I use LED studio lights, with rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries so that I am not tethered to a power cable. These lights are energy-efficient and are perfect for the kind of work I am using them for. The lights extend up to 2 meters tall. Rarely do LED’s blow, so I should get a long lifespan out of these lights.

You will also notice the very tiny camera on a tripod. I managed to pick up the tripod second-hand on Ebay, but the camera itself is a GoPro Black Hero 4. I chose it because it too has a rechargeable battery and it takes the most amazing video and photographs and has a small environmental footprint. As it is waterproof down to about 130 metres, I will also be using it around the garden when I get a bit of sunshine to take footage for the Greening of Gavin channel.

What I also like is that all the batteries are charged using my Solar PV system or using GreenPower. Keeps it all pretty green except for the manufacturing of the individual components.

My new organic cotton T-shirt. I love it!

For the talking head part of the videos, I use my iPhone on a small tripod which does pretty good video as well. In fact all the photos that I take for the blog are taken on my phone. There is certainly no need these days to purchase a fancy camera, unless you really want to get into the art.

It’s all very easy to set up and pack away to get started on the evening meal.

Even if I make a cheese for the first time, I still film the process in case it turns out as per the recipe, which more often than not it does.

Even if it doesn’t work out, I can show others not what to do! This saves a heck of a lot of time and doesn’t add any more time onto the cheese making process. So it is win-win for me and you the viewer.

However, I do make mistakes quite often. Here is a rare blooper snippet from an upcoming cheese tutorial complete with background noise, mispronunciation, Kim offering sound advice, and a retake! I’m not normally that snappy, but this was about the fourth take, so patience with myself was wearing thin.

Once the footage is in the can (so to speak), I then edit it using software called Pinnacle Studio 19, which has some rich features including picture-in-picture, montages, and tile overlays. I use most of the features during editing, which can take up to four to five hours per 15 minute cheese video. I do enjoy the creative part of editing and the time just flies when I’m in the zone.

Anyway, that is how I make my cheese videos in my kitchen. If anyone has any questions about the production aspect, I’m happy to answer them in the comments section.

8 years ago on the 13th of February 2008, this blog hit the interwebs with its first post titled Why I choose to lead a Sustainable Lifestyle. When that initial post was published, my family had been living as lightly on the planet as we could for just under 18 months. We have been living this way for nearly 10 years and we’ve come so far!

Since that post, The Greening of Gavin blog has grown into a repository of sustainable living articles and how-to posts that now numbers well over 1840, with over 2.5 million page views.

It’s an achievement that I am very proud of. Rarely did I have the passion to maintain anything that long, however never had I been so driven by such an emotive subject with real passion.

Gavin loving life

I’ve been motivated to share everything we’ve learnt along the way by people like yourself who leave comments, send emails and voicemail asking thousands of questions.

People like yourself who want to leave behind a better place for future generations and who understand the importance of living such a lifestyle and the influence that small actions have upon friends, family, and the community as a whole.

I think I may have stopped long ago if it wasn’t for your kind words of encouragement as this blog grew into something that is now a part of my soul and moral fibre.

When I write here, I feel empowered and alive, especially in the knowledge that thousands of you will be reading and sometimes replicating my projects, and acknowledging that there might just be something in this lark.

Cob Oven Firing 4th layer with Megan and Jake

Although I have begun to reduce the volume of posts consciously from nearly every day, to once or twice a week, due to other commitments, the lifestyle is well embedded in everything we do in our personal and professional lives.

My original motto still rings true;

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Compost Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family’s Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

I haven’t changed it since the day I wrote it, because it’s what we do.

During this blog’s ‘life’, I started Little Green Cheese and it’s associated YouTube channel because of my passion for cheese making, one of the hobbies I picked up along the way.

Caerphilly Cheese – one month old

Kim and I also started a sustainable living skill sharing business, Little Green Workshops, with another one under development (it’s a surprise), both with green themes and developed with our environmental principles and values foremost at mind. Sustainable products, sourcing, and operations are the values we use when making every lifestyle decision.

Gavin and Kim – Little Green Workshops

Here we are, eight years on, still going strong. This is us, sustainable warts and all. If we can live mostly sustainable in the suburban landscape, so can everyone else if they choose to.

So here’s to the next eight years! I wonder what it will bring?

Will this article help someone you know? If so help them out by sharing now!

Hands up those of you who knew I wrote sustainable living eBooks? Not many I reckon, and I believe I know why.

Because it wasn’t very visible on the blog or the web for that matter. It wasn’t search friendly or easy to find via google either.

Well to fix that, I created a subdomain of this blog called shop.greeningofgavin.com, that looks pretty much the same as this blog except that it is cut down a bit to improve e-commerce functionality.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been busy in the back-end tweaking (not twerking) the site to improve the look and feel and to list the eBooks that I’ve written over the last three years. The new Shop @ Greening of Gavin is powered by Woocommerce if anyone is interested, which I am now quite proficient in due to working daily on our workshop store.

I have also been researching other environmentally friendly products that I use to see if I can source and ship them potential customers. I will see how it pans out, but for now you can buy and download the sustainable living eBooks.

Also in the last week I moved all my hosting back to Australia (was in Salt Lake City, Utah) due to a massive DDOS attack that company was having for over 3 weeks. It was also the main reason I haven’t written much because the site was very unstable and it was difficult to gain admin access or even take a backup.

So now my blog is located in a Data Centre here in Melbourne, Australia, hosted by VentraIP. We have had a good experience with this IT service with Little Green Workshops for over a year, with about 2 minutes downtime which I think is acceptable. This is one of the reasons I moved hosts (as well as the DDOS attack).

Another reason was that I could offset my carbon emissions for the electricity consumed by the servers in the Data Centre. I paid for certified carbon offsets for this blog, Shop @ Greening of Gavin and Little Green Cheese which makes me feel a lot better. Even though all the power I consume here at home is either Solar or GreenPower which powers all my IT infrastructure here, my old hosting was not so green. Now it is!

So it’s been all fun and games here on the blog and not a heck of writing getting done. Now that I have a stable blog, the words will begin to flow. I’m even thinking about writing a few more eBooks and finish off that gardening one I’ve been threatening to torture you with 😉

Current ideas are simple irrigation and water harvesting, gardening, a second cheese making book volume, composting and worm farming to name a few.

To help get the creative juices flowing, what topics would you like to see me cover in the next series of books. Let me know via comment and I will add them to my brainstorming list! Any ideas graciously accepted.

Follow my work

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

Feedjit

TGOG Readers On-line

Podcast Reviews

Always inspiring and entertaining!

August 4, 2016 by floriographer from Australia

I've crowed about Gavin's podcast before but I just have to recommend it once again - I love that he shares his learning as well as his successes - it helps the rest of us try try try again! Thanks Gavin!

ms

July 22, 2016 by Ketaea12 from New Zealand

I really enjoy listening to Gavin, he has a kind lovely voice. He covers some great relevant topics for the everyday greenie. With lots of tips or how to or what not to do.
Thanks Gavin, love it!!

Well worth your time to tune in

October 23, 2015 by A Vision Splendid from Australia

I can highly recommend Gavin’s podcast !
I have followed Gavin’s blog since the very beginning and have loved to see his journey unfold. Gavin has a lovely speaking voice so this podcast is always very easy to listen to.
Gavin has a very authentic approach to his green living lifestyle. He shares the ups and downs but always provides motivation and practical steps that we can all implement.

very good

June 28, 2015 by Scared pax from United Kingdom

This is a great podcast if you want to improve your life in so many aspects and become a more sustainable person. I love the soothing voice, the good pace, and it contains lots of useful information. Recommended!

opened my eyes

May 25, 2015 by Gorn4lyfe from Australia

A wonderful show!

Inspiring

April 30, 2015 by Alan Whelan from Ireland

This is a great podcast if you're looking for practical info on saving money by living more sustainably from someone who's made that journey over the last few years. Told in a nice, easy conversational style

Green Living, inspiring and practical

January 8, 2015 by EliseMac from Australia

Thanks Gav for sharing what has (and hasn't) worked along your journey for living a greener lifestyle. Inspiring and achievable for anyone, I look forward to this podcast weekly.

Local food equals less waste

December 27, 2014 by allotmentadventureswithjean from Australia

Another brilliant podcast from Gavin Webber encouraging us, and showing us how, to cut down on food miles, growing our own food, and cutting down on food waste. Gavin is a really interesting speaker, showing us how to eat better, growing our own food and how to live more sustainably.

Honestly australian

December 15, 2014 by HodgepodgeOz from Australia

Fantastic podcast, with a wide variety of well thought and researched topics. Gavin is a honest, forthright pod aster with a genuine interest in helping others get green. Like a day alongside is a day wasted, so too is a week without listening to Gavin. Highly recommended for people starting out, or those in the midst of their new lifestyle. Keep it up Gavin, wish there were more great reviews! Kimberley

Morning motivation

December 8, 2014 by Bunnyworm from Australia

Gavin has a great passion for living this greener lifestyle that motivates others to do the same. The podcasts are always interesting and informative. :)

Passionate Advocate

October 18, 2014 by BoomOpGirl from Australia

Gavin's enthusiasm and passion for creating a more sustainable world is nothing short of contagious. Thanks Gav, you are my weekly source of motivation for living a sustainable life! :)

Gavin speaks from the heart

October 13, 2014 by Green gavin from Australia

Gavin's podcasts are required listening for anyone planning to live a more sustainable life. He doesn't preach, but tells you his story from the heart. You'll laugh, smile, share in his concerns and along the way you'll pick up some great tips on living a simple life.

Green thoughts, so well iterated

October 9, 2014 by Kwasikwami from Australia

This is a wonderful podcast. Not only does Gavin talk knowledgeably on a range of sustainability topics from gardening tips all the way to the issues facing humanity as a whole, but he does so in such a wonderful voice, it's like listening to my Dad, love it!!

Easy listening inspiration on being green

September 24, 2014 by Broomedy from Australia

Gav knows how to share his journey to a more sustainable life in a manner that shows just how easy it really is. Not to mention healthier, economically beneficial and generally rewarding. The podcasts are an easy way to absorb Gav's great lifestyle. I recommend to anyone.

Thanks Gavin!

August 31, 2014 by Honeywoodmilk from Australia

Great practical advice for a greener lifestyle. This podcast is for anybody interested in growing their own food in suburbia, saving electricity, brewing beer, making cheese, all that wonderful business and most of all, saving money! Thanks Gavin, love the podcast mate!

Enjoyed those ideas for staying warm

August 15, 2014 by enduringdragon from United States

Like you we are having winter here in Chile—brrr! Every bit we can save on heating we will.

Green Podcasts

July 26, 2014 by Carneu from Australia

Excellent podcasts, which are full of information to help get started on a sustainable lifestyle.

Practical ideas and inspiration

July 19, 2014 by HeathrowHeath from Australia

I highly recommend Gavin's podcast and blog. Down to earth, entertaining and inspirational. Thank you.

Interesting & easy to listen to

April 27, 2014 by Velocity3 from New Zealand

Gavin & his guests make this green journey lots of fun.

Great green listen

April 18, 2014 by Obscurenickname from Australia

Gavin is a great down to earth, tell it like it is aussie with a passion for sustainability and growing food and making cheese